KUALA LUMPUR: Concrete Engineering Products Bhd (CEPCO), a manufacturer and distributor of pre-stressed spun concrete piles and poles, expects at least 15 per cent revenue growth this year.
CEPCO managing director Leong Kway Wah said this should be achievable due to the growing demand of its products in overseas market as well as it’s outstanding order book of RM100 million.
“We expect this year to be a difficult year. Last year we (posted) around RM102 million. We have budgeted around RM180 million revenue this financial year.
“Our overseas markets will continue to contribute substantially to the group’s total revenue this year,”Leong told the New Straits Times after its annual general meeting here today.
CEPCO recorded a revenue of RM101.9 million in FYE2019 compared to RM161.9 million in the previous year.
The main contribution to export sales came from its fertiliser plant in Nigeria, the Maldives Airport expansion, Palembang Highway projects, ammonia plant in Brunei and sugar mill reginery in Palembang.
On the local front, Leong said the suspension of various mega projects such as Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) and Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Circle Line (MRT 3), East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) had affected private investments.
“CEPCO is directly affected as those projects’ demands for building materials offer a potential source to fill order books.
“We are hoping that our ongoing infrastructure projects in East Malaysia will not be adversely affected by the government expenditure cutback and remains an area where the group could secure a fair share of new orders,” he said.
Leong said pressures from rising labour costs and volatility of the US dollar against local and regional currencies and fluctuation in steel prices would affect the competitiveness of its products in the local and export markets.
“These will continue to be the key areas that we will actively monitor to mitigate any adverse impact on our businesses,” he added.